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christmas eve travel fun

today was the only day i could get four frequent flier seats from san diego to detroit (we would normally fly a couple days earlier). so we’re flying on christmas eve. woke up at 4am. got to the airport about 5:15. got through security, boarded, all peachy. but as soon as we took off, it was obvious something was wrong. the plane kept speeding up and slowing down, and lots of turning. eventually they told us there was a faulty sensor (we later found out it’s a $1 sensor in the landing gear, that just had some water in it), and we were going to fly at 8000 feet to los angeles (a bit different than our itended chicago layover).

upon landing in chicago, max threw up.

we’re in LA now, waiting for the part to get replaced. we’ll miss our connecting flight, and (upon checking) were just told that both of the remaining flights to detroit today are sold out. so, we’re hoping they’ll get us on somehow, or put us on another airline. otherwise we might be waking up christmas morning in an airport hotel, which is, somehow, not quite the same for my kids as waking up at grandma and grandpa’s house.

update:

made it to chicago. united got us rebooked on a late night flight. 6 hour layover here in chicago, but at least we get to sleep at grandma and grandpa’s tonite.

final update, a few days later:

i forgot to mention that upon our arrival in chicago, we got to our gate, to find a bus (yes, a bus) blocking it. and, the bus had a dead battery. the pilot said there were 8 guys walking around it, trying to figure out what to do about it. half hour later, we got into our gate. then, we made stand-by on a slightly earlier flight out of chicago, which made us extremely happy. of course, after boarding the plane, finding out the plane was missing ‘an emergency kit’ wasn’t as happy-making. the pilot kept coming on the speaker, saying it should be here any minute. he got more and more frustrated, and started talking about how completely unprofessional this delay was (it was actually kind of funny). the kit arrived after we’d sat on the plane for 45 minutes.

the final straw was my own fault, i suppose (though i still have no idea how i did it). upon arrival in detroit, i took the shuttle to get our rental car, while jeannie and the kids waited for our checked luggage. when i pulled up to the curb at baggage claim, i somehow locked the keys in the car, with the car running. yup. engine running, keys inside, us standing on the curb with our luggage. a policeman told me to move my car, and i told him i’d locked the keys in it: he laughed at me and walked away. really. eventually, a tow truck dude came over and got the door open for us.

So what are you saying – that 5 1/2 hours is too much of an investment in someone’s Christmas? Well, there wouldn’t have been room for you anyway. Steph would have insisted on coming, so that would have meant there was only room for Jeannie, Liesl, and Max.

Have a very merry Christmas Marko (and family). I’m very happy that everything is straightening out for you. :)

I’m Mark Oestreicher

I'm a partner in The Youth Cartel, providing services and resources for individual youth workers and organizations. I’ve been married to Jeannie for 30 years, and have two great kids: Riley (22) and Max (18).
Here's The Youth Cartel's website.
twitter: @markosbeard
instagram: @whyismarko